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The Obama administration on Tuesday announced the hiring of its first openly transgender staff member, Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, former policy adviser for the Racial and Economic Justice Initiative at the National Center for Transgender Equality, according to The Washington Post.

In her new role, Freedman-Gurspan, 28, will work as an outreach and recruitment director in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, writes the Post:

Freedman-Gurspan “demonstrates the kind of leadership this administration champions,” Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to President Obama, said in an e-mailed statement confirming the appointment. “Her commitment to bettering the lives of transgender Americans — particularly transgender people of color and those in poverty — reflects the values of this administration.”

In a news release, National Center for Transgender Equality Executive Director Mara Keisling said: “President Obama has long said he wants his administration to look like the American people. I have understood this to include transgender Americans. A transgender person was inevitably going to work in the White House….

Congratulations and good luck, Ms. Freedman-Gurspan.

SOURCE: The Washington Post | PHOTO CREDIT: Twitter

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Progress: White House Hires First Openly Transgender Staffer  was originally published on newsone.com